Re-drawing the Margins

Indian Origin Tamils living on Sri Lanka’s tea plantations were originally brought to the country by British colonists to provide cheap indentured labour for the growing tea plantations. Descendants of this ethnic group still live on large tea estates managed by private or semi-government companies. Although citizenship was granted in 2003, they face severe hardships including limited access to government services. Women, who form the majority of plantation workers tend to be the most marginalized. Chrysalis through its project aims at promoting democratic governance in this sector, by promoting national level dialogue to effect changes to policy that impacts the plantation communities, with a focus on women’s rights. The project will look to connect local government service providers with plantation communities by building their capacities to improve service delivery, to respond and be accountable to those they serve

Project Information

Target Beneficiaries: 600,000 people living and working on tea plantations & 100,000 people living in adjacent Sinhalese villages